Last night and tonight there were several 80M stations, and one 160M station,
that were in big demand in North America and I guess worldwide, given who they
were coming back to.
The callers were all exactly (or plus minus 200 Hz) on the DX's frequency. It
wasn't a complete disaster... conditions were good enough that most or all the
callers, could hear the DX, and when he started coming most (but not all) the
callers would stop. But it was far from optimal.
Of course it's the DX's decision to split or not. But... in a not crowded
band... why don't they just go split the instant they get more than a few
callers? I guess one reason is they don't want to litter the whole band with
callers spoiling it for other DX. Lord knows on the high bands, when there's
two DXpeditions spaced a kHz from each other, it's a complete disaster. But
with some clear direction (e.g. "UP2", keeping away from the DX window) from
the DX it can be kept confined.
And while I'm on the subject... when RI1ANF *did* go split tonight on 160M, I
got him right away. Amazing. A few months ago I didn't have a receive antenna
and couldn't even hear him. And tonight, he's clear as a bell. I feel like I'm
on top of the world! Just a little brag from a 160M newbie :-).
Tim N3QE
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It is undesirable to believe a proposition when there is no ground whatsoever
for supposing it is true. — Bertrand Russell
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